Red Thread Rule

[Chorus]
Red thread 'round the mirror frame
'Til we don't remember the name
Tie the August knot so tight
Beneath the single kitchen light

[Verse 1]
On all the porches up and down East 31st
We check the tension, bracing for the worst
The coarse wool scratching underneath a thumb
Waiting for the engine knock that doesn't come
We leave the salt out on the concrete sill
A generation holding its breath, and holding still

[Verse 2]
Our parents carry ghosts we only feel the weight of
A silence welded from the things they're made of
My Teta swore, “It keeps the bad news out”
A language cracking in her tired mouth
So we just nod, we twist another loop
For every cracked foundation on the stoop

[Chorus]
Red thread 'round the mirror frame
'Til we don't remember the name
Tie the August knot so tight
Beneath the single kitchen light

[Bridge]
The phone didn't ring last Tuesday at three AM
Just the late summer freight train rumbling over the Passaic again
And nobody had to drive to the hospital downtown

[Outro]
The thread is still there
And we're still here